Tom Elliott on the life and legacy of his dad

Tom Elliott reveals the “interesting dynamic” he had with his late father John Elliott on the eve of the Carlton and Liberal Party heavyweight’s memorial.

Tom Elliott tells Patrick Carlyon about the life and legacy of his father – and regular 3AW guest – John Elliott, the football club president, corporate raider and once aspiring PM who died in September and will be farewelled at Princes Park on February 11.

Your father was a tough old bastard, wasn’t he?

I wouldn’t say he was hard but he had some very firm life lessons. His famous quote was do your best, vote Liberal and barrack for Carlton. He taught us that we would never inherit anything, that we had to make our own way in the world. I think those lessons kept us in pretty good stead.

How do you describe his love of Carlton?

When he was in the middle of UK brewery takeovers, dad would come back to watch Carlton on a Saturday then get back on the plane that night and go back to London. He would fly almost as far away as you could possibly fly across the world just to come back to watch the football.

John Elliott with Carlton’s 1970 VFL Premiership Cup.

What do you miss most about him?

I wouldn’t say that you take your parents for granted but after they’ve gone you think you won’t ever have a chance to discuss something with them or share something with them ever again.

Did being regularly on air together for 11 years make you closer?

We had this interesting dynamic. I was the host of the show, he was there for his unusual comments. You never knew what he was going to say but I certainly enjoyed it.

As a kid, did he seem different to the other fathers?

I suppose so. I finished school in 1985 and dad’s fame had started to build. We were clearing out all the stuff a couple of months ago, boxes and boxes of old cartoons and pictures in the newspaper. I suppose you realise that that was different because not everybody’s dad was in the paper every second day.

Did he live by his own rules?

It’s no secret that his career took a turn for the worst 20-something years ago. But he never blamed other people for that, he never expressed regret about decisions that were made. He had very high expectations of himself but he never had angst about the past. He always looked to and talked about the future.

He made lots of money and lost lots of money. Why the big highs and the big falls?

People who are entrepreneurial take risks and dad took risks. For a while things really paid off but sometimes they don’t pay off. To his credit he was always trying to look for new ideas, new deals, new ways of doing things. He didn’t regard himself as encumbered by what had gone on in the past but it’s fair to say that he made some poor decisions along with some very good ones.

Did he believe that greed was good?

Not really. He wasn’t in it for the money as such. He had the trappings of wealth and obviously liked that, but in contrast to some other ’80s entrepreneurs he inevitably gets compared to, he bought and built real businesses.

Did he really want to be prime minister?

I don’t think so. He toyed with the idea. He had this idea, like a lot of business people, that you could run Australia like you run a company. I honestly don’t think that he would’ve made a very good politician. Politicians need to work by consensus and business leaders by and large do not.

He drank too much, didn’t he?

He did. That was pretty much the opening remark at his (private) funeral by his surviving brother Ross: “John drank too much. He did.”

Was his drinking an issue for you as his son?

Not really. It’s well documented he lost his licence a couple of times. Personally I didn’t see it impair his decision-making but it’s possible it may have.

Stephen Silvagni and John Elliott sampling a meat pie.

Did he care about public perceptions?

By and large not. Certain comedians would take the piss out of him. Some of them he liked and some of them he didn’t like. He accepted the rough with the smooth, though he always got indignant about the “pig’s arse” reference. He used to try to explain to people that he never said that. He lost that battle.

But he did like meat pies?

Dad used to order toasted ham and cheese sandwiches and pies. The funny thing was he was never much of a beer drinker. People assumed he drank a lot of beer but he didn’t.

Stephen Silvagni’s son Jack is introduced to Carlton president John Elliot in 1999

John and Tom Elliott.

What sort of grandfather was he?

He wasn’t a nappy changing, babysitting grandfather but he loved the company of his grandchildren. He liked to make up nicknames for them. My sister has a daughter called India and he’d sometimes call her Pakistan or something like that, which I don’t think she liked very much.

A favourite memory?

When we went to the football together for the last time. It was late 2019, and Carlton played St Kilda. I got a cab to pick him up and the car dropped us off on the wrong side of the ground. Every second person wanted to stop and to have their photo taken with him. When we left at the end of the day it was the same process. It took forever to get out.

His greatest legacy?

Certainly the proudest moments of his life were the two flags that Carlton won when he was president. He was very proud of us (four) children. Although he didn’t openly say so, he would tell other people. He lived life by his own rules and I think he was proud that he did that and passed it along to his kids.